Page 36 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Chapter 2

Make Everyone’s

Dreams Come True

A dream is a wish your heart makes.
Jiminy Cricket

t is no easy matter to convey a dream. Dreams are, by nature, deeply
personal experiences. But true to his imaginative genius, Walt Disney
Iwas able to transform his dreams into stories that effectively articulated
his vision to others. More importantly, the stories served to draw others into
his fantasies, thereby marshaling the power of their collective creativity for
the benefit of his dream.
In the early days, when The Walt Disney Company was small, Walt
used to call his five or six animators into his office to discuss an idea for a
new film project. With dramatic effect, he would embark on a story—not a
literal narrative account of his idea, but an ancient myth, perhaps, or some
other related tale that conveyed the feelings and emotions behind his dream
and his hope for the project’s success. In short order, the master would
capture the imaginations of his “cast members” (“employees” in the usual
corporate parlance) and in the process stimulate the kind of excitement and
commitment of minds and hearts that he well knew was necessary to turn
Disney-size dreams into reality. For example, he insisted that the castle at
Disneyland be built first—before anything else—so that this visual structure
could help shape the vision and rally everyone around the dream he was try-
ing to create. (See Figure 2-1.)

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